Myrtle Beach Videos (10 - 11 weeks old)

Austin eating in his car seat on the drive down

Austin playing on his playmat in the backseat

Melissa introduces Austin to the dogs while Amy watches nervously in horror

Melissa and Jonathan change a diaper

Austin in his stroller at the outlet mall

Austin puts his feet in the Atlantic Ocean

Amy puts Austin in the car and Melissa brushes his teeth with a snow brush

Austin on his playmat at a rest area on the drive home

Sky Tower Photo

Looking back through some photos, we saw this one of us on the top of Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand. I didn't remember Austin being there, but the photo evidence suggests otherwise.

Trip to Myrtle Beach (11 weeks old)

Austin went on his first vacation this week. We left early Friday morning at 3:30am. I woke up at 2am and pumped and got ready. Then Austin woke up so we got him ready and we left for Myrtle Beach.

I realized that Austin has a lot of stuff that we needed to pack for him. We wanted him to have all of his comforts from home. So we had to pack the Boppy, bouncer, and play gym. Plus of course his diapers, changing pads, lots of clothes, and all the breast milk. I am so glad we have a small SUV instead of a little car because everything barely fit in our Ford Escape.



When we left the house, I sat up in the front seat with Brian and we talked. We only got a few hours of sleep so we were both tired but talking helped keep us awake. We stopped for gas in the morning around 7am then I moved to the back seat so I could feed Austin in his car seat. About an hour later, we stopped at McDonalds for breakfast. We took Austin out of his car seat and let him play on the table in McDonalds. We covered it with blankets and Brian’s coat so he was not exposed to germs. We wanted him to get some exercise since he had to spend so much time in his car seat. While I was ordering, people came and talked to Brian. It is funny that strangers will come up to him when he's alone with Austin. Everyone loves Austin. People don't seem to stop by when the mom is there though.


We also stopped for lunch at Wendy’s and did the same thing as McDonalds. It really worked out well. Brian was also really nice and got his play mat gym out and set it up in the backseat of our car so Austin could play in the parking lot for a little bit. Austin loved it!


It took us 12 ½ hours to get to Myrtle Beach. We stayed at Auntie Melissa’s and Uncle Bear’s house for the first few nights. We basically moved into their house. They quickly realized how much stuff little Austin has. Austin slept in our room in his pack and play. We did not know how he would like sleeping in his pack and play but he slept fine. The only thing is he makes a lot of noises in his sleep. So it was hard for us to ignore all of his crazy noises throughout the night but we got better as the week went on.





Saturday night Melissa, Jonathan, Brian and I went to a murder mystery dinner at the House of Blues. It was a lot of fun! Grandma babysat Austin for us. It was a great night. Melissa is crazy. The two people next to her were murdered. She got to interview the woman for a while. It was so funny!




On Saturday and Sunday morning we went to Dino’s for breakfast. We took Austin and he was so good. Everyone there loved him. It is amazing how good of a baby Austin is. We are truly blessed.





On Monday morning we moved over to Brian’s mom house. Austin took over another house. On Monday, we went to Broadway on the beach and walked around with Grandma and Uncle Bear. Austin had a lot of fun. Brian carried him around so he could see everything. Austin even sat on his first dinosaur. After that we went to Auntie Melissa’s and Grandpa Mike’s work to say hello.




After Auntie Melissa got home from work, we all went to the beach with Austin. This was Austin’s first trip to the beach. The temperature outside was around 80 however it was extremely windy so it felt much cooler. The water was also a little cool but we thought it was okay to put Austin’s feet in the water. We were surprised that he did not mind it at all. He liked it. We got some family pictures at the beach.




We had a lot of fun in Myrtle Beach visiting everyone. Austin really liked his trip and took a lot of things in. You can tell he is absorbing everything he sees and does. In fact on Tuesday we basically slept all day and night because we had wore him out so much. While we were there, Austin turned over from his stomach to his back for the first time (April 1). It was exciting!



It took us a little less than 12 hours to get home. We left around 2:30am after Austin woke up. It was nice because Grandma got Austin all ready while we packed up the car and I pumped. We were amazed how quickly things went when we did not have to get Austin ready too. We have learned it takes us much longer when we have to get Austin ready too.

Austin slept most of the way home. In fact, he got at 730am and ate a bottle in his car seat and did not get back up until 930am. Then we stopped at McDonalds again for breakfast. Since we were making such good time, we did not stop for lunch. We did stop at a rest area. Brian got Austin’s play mat out again and put it on a picnic table so he could play for a little bit. It was a nice day out so he enjoyed it.


We are now home and all a little tired. Brian and I got very little sleep again last night. Austin is getting use to being back home and sleeping in his crib. We all hope to get a good night's sleep.

Two Months Old

Austin is already two months old. Where as all the time gone? I look at him and I see a little man, not an infant baby. He is so big! However he will always be my baby. He weighs 13 pounds and is 24 ½ inches tall. He is in the 73 percentile for weight and 89 percentile for height (these are according to tables on the internet - the doctor's office actually told us he was 98% in height but his 2 day check up was a couple of days past his 2 month birth date!). Either way, he is going to be tall like his daddy.

We took him to the pediatrician yesterday for his two month check up. She said he looks good and healthy. He also got 5 vaccines. I hate when he has to get shots. I feel so bad for him. He cries and cries. Plus his face turns so red. Brian was able to distract him afterwards by carrying him the way he likes (see video below). Brian will carry him so he faces outward and Austin loves it. He holds on securely to his legs and lets him look around and lean up against him. A common side effect of the vaccines is a fever. So I gave him some Tylenol because he felt warm and was a little fussy. He was otherwise fine with everything.

Click to watch video

Last Wednesday night we took Austin to his first Cavs game. We knew it would be pretty sparse on a Wednesday night and it was. We had the whole row to ourselves. We did not have high expectations about going. We thought if we made it through half time we would be doing good. Well he loved it! There were so many things to look at. He just loved soaking it all in. We ended up staying though overtime. We sat in our seats for a while. When he got a little fussy we walked around the arena. He just took everything in. Too bad the Cavs lost. He did sleep through overtime though as you can see below. Too bad they didn't win for Austin!

Click to watch video

We are trying to do many things with Austin. We do not believe in just staying at home with an infant. He needs to see things and we want to be able to leave the house as he gets older too. We hear that you need to start doing things with babies early so that is what we are doing.

Austin usually goes to the grocery stores with us unless my mom offers to babysit. My mom babysat him on Saturday night. That is our shopping night so we went out for dinner then to the grocery store. Even though the grocery store is not very exciting, we enjoy our date nights out together. We had a nice dinner and talked about how our lives are going to change once I go back to work. I am still extremely emotional about that subject.


Brian and I are also focused too on our marriage. We enjoy doing things together without Austin at times. Our lives cannot just be about Austin. Austin needs parents who love each other and cherish their marriage. That way he can be raised in a happy home with two happy parents.


I now feel comfortable taking Austin anywhere I go. I am able to go to the stores by myself with him. I do not see it as a pain. I just pick him up and off we go. I know some moms who do not like leaving the house. That is not me. The only issue is his car seat is heavy because it weighs about 10 pounds and with Austin in it that is another 13 pounds. Once the weather gets nicer, I will be able just to carry him without the car seat.

We celebrated Austin’s great grandparents birthday at our house last weekend. Gramps is now 85 and Grandma is 84. They are very special people. We have been going over to their house once a week so they can see Austin. Every week, Austin changes more and more. This past visit Austin actually had a first. He held his rattle for the first time.


We leave on Friday to drive to Myrtle Beach. I am a little nervous about the car ride but we will see how it goes. It will be nice to get away for a week. Plus we need practice on taking Austin on vacation. As everyone knows, we love to travel. And we hope Austin does too!



Since we're posting videos, here is a good video of Austin's other favorite thing to do: play on his play mat. This was shot when he was 6 weeks old.

Click to watch video

Uncle Dean Visits

On Saturday, my mom called an offered to watch Austin Saturday night. That was an unexpected surprise. Brian and I decided to take her up on the offer. Since it was short notice we did not have time to plan anything. So we decided to go out for dinner and then do our grocery shopping. For the last few weeks, we have taken Austin with us to the grocery store. For the most part, he is really good but this week we did our shopping alone. Welcome to parenthood.


On Sunday my brother Dean arrived from Texas. He drove up here to visit for a week to meet his nephew Austin. Dean and my parents came over for dinner. I got to make a large Sunday meal. I really enjoy cooking but more so when I get to cook for a crowd.



It was nice Dean was here. Him and Dad came up several days to spend the day with Austin and me. I usually do not leave the house much and do not get many visitors so this week was exciting for me. On Wednesday morning, I was even brave and went to breakfast with everyone. Austin was really good at the restaurant. Restaurants often have sling like stools to put the car seat in. It works out great because I do not even have to get Austin out of his car seat. He is able to sit at the table with us but no one has to hold him while they eat.


On Thursday, Dad and Dean watched Austin for me for two hours. Austin was good for them. I was grateful. They even changed his diaper. They said that was an adventure but they did it. Neither has changed a baby’s diaper in many years. They did a great job.

Thursday was St. Patrick’s Day. This week, I have dressed Austin in several St. Patrick’s outfits that we received. Also the weather was unseasonably warm. Dean and I walked Austin around the block while Dad washed my car for me. Then that evening Brian and I walked Austin around the block too. He got to see outside a lot. I was so happy to get outside.



This week Austin has discovered his hand and somewhat his thumb. He really likes to suck on his hand. I am afraid that he is going to be sucking his thumb very soon. We even bought Austin a pacifier to see if he would suck on that instead of his hand. He just spits the pacifier out though. So we will see what happens. Also this week, he began to smile while awake. Austin now weighs 12 pounds.


In a month, I will be going back to work. I have so many mixed feelings on this. One moment, I am excited to go back to work. I have worked hard with my career. I’m proud of what I have accomplished and do not want to give that up. The other hand I am very sad to leave my baby boy. I know with him in daycare I will not spend as much time with him as I want to. I will probably miss important milestones in his life. That is hard breaking. I wonder how Brian and I are going to do with me working full time. We have a really good set up right now but that is going to change once I am working all week. This keeps me up at night worrying about it. But I need to relax and see what happens. We need to try it and hopefully everything will work out for all of us.



It is another nice day outside so I am meeting my friend and we are going for a walk. Before I had Austin, we would walk 6-7 miles once a week together. Our walks are going to be different with Austin here but they may be even more fun.

One month check up

Last week, we took Austin to the pediatrician for a one month check up. Austin weighed 10 pounds 9 ounces. He was 22 ¾ inches long. He is getting big fast! She did a complete head to toe assessment on Austin and she said he’s a healthy growing baby. I love our pediatrician. She takes her time with us and answers all of our questions. Being new parents, we have a lot of questions!


She also recommended that we start developing a bedtime routine for Austin. Austin needs to learn to put himself to sleep in his crib. He does that during the night but sometimes when we put him to bed he is already asleep. We now fed him, change him, read him a story, and rock him while listening to a lullaby. Then we put him in his crib. He sometimes cries a little but most nights he falls asleep okay. Listening to him cry is terrible for me but I understand the reasoning. But all and all it is going well.

Austin goes to bed now around 900-1000pm. He usually sleeps 4-5 hours before waking up. We are pretty lucky. I hear some infants only sleep two hours at a time. Once he wakes up, we feed and change him and put him back to bed. That usually takes 30 minutes and then it takes me another 30 minutes to pump. Brian is the one that takes care of Austin right now before midnight (if he would wake up). I take care of him the rest of the night. Austin usually wakes up between 2-3 am and 5-6am. If I am lucky, he will go back to sleep until about 7:30am. However on Saturday morning, he slept in until 9:30am. We could not believe it!

We have learned that all diapers are not created equal. We have not had much luck with the generic diapers. The worst thing is if he pees though his diaper in the middle of the night. Then we have to change his clothes and that wakes him completely up and he will not go back to be for at least an hour. So finding the best diapers is important. For a while, we liked Pampers the best. Now we really like Luvs diapers. Austin is in size 1 in diapers. I never realized there are sizes for diapers. I know it makes sense but I never thought about it. He is outgrown newborn diapers and now on the size 1.

This weekend, we went to a consignment sale on baby items. It was the best. We got Austin probably $175 worth of clothes and $100 worth of toys for $38! The consignment sale was put on by mothers in our community and held at a local school. The unfortunate part is they only have it once a year. They also told me about the mother’s club. Maybe in the fall, I will join it.

Austin is now 6 weeks old. I am half way though my maternity leave already. It is amazing how fast the time is going. Austin is getting so big and so much more alert. I get to play with him a lot during the day. He usually naps between 1-4pm but other than that he is mostly awake during the day. He will take little catnaps during the day but they are short. He is taking the world in right now and it is cute to see. This week, I am hoping he starts smiling when he’s awake. He is close, but it has not happened yet.